The tally is in for the Swift Current municipal advance polls.
Jackie Schlamp, returning officer and city clerk for the City of Swift Current, has been hard at work this election season. For the last couple of days, she has been working to ensure everything runs smoothly for advance poll voters.
Today, she revealed some interesting stats from the 2024 election that have unfolded so far.
Namely, overall voter turnout is down. A total of 876 voters came out during the four days of advance polls. In 2020, that number was 1,798. With a shortage of 922 voters from the last election, Schlamp thinks there are a few factors at play.
"We were in a time of COVID back in 2020, and people were just looking for an excuse to get out of the house, and they were looking for a change in members of city council," offered Schlamp.
The fact that there is also no mayoral race in this election may have also reduced voter numbers. Swift Current Mayor Al Bridal was acclaimed for his second term after no other candidates stepped forward for this election.
Currently, there are ten candidates running for Swift Current city council. There is also voting to be had for the public school board.
Today, Schlamp is launching the special poll locations. You can find the full list of locations and times here.